In a setback to the West Bengal unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of Lok Sabha polls, a party legislator representing Katulpur in West Bengal’s Bankura district on Thursday joined the Trinamool Congress.
Harakali Protiher, who had won from Katulpur on a BJP ticket in 2021 Assembly polls joined the State’s ruling party in presence of Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
“This move reflects a resounding commitment to serving the people and strengthening the unwavering ideals of Ma, Mati, and Manush (Mother, Mud, and Man). We wholeheartedly welcome him to the Trinamool Congress family,” the Trinamool Congress shared a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) from its official handle. The party also shared photograph of the MLA with Mr. Banerjee.
Mr. Protiher is the seventh BJP MLA to switch allegiance to the Trinamool Congress in the past two years, since May 2021 when results of the last Assembly polls were declared. Earlier in February 2023, Suman Kanjilal, a first-time MLA from Alipurduar, switched to Trinamool Congress citing his disagreement with the Centre’s decision to block Bengal’s rightful due under MGNREGA scheme.
Congress MLA from Sagardighi Byram Biswas who had won the assembly bypolls in March 2023, also joined the Trinamool Congress weeks after getting elected to State assembly.
The other MLAs who switched from BJP to Trinamool Congress after the 2021 include Raiganj MLA Krishna Kalyani, Kaliaganj MLA Soumen Roy, Bagda MLA Biswajit Das, Bishnupur MLA Tanmoy Ghosh, and Krishnanagar Uttar MLA Mukul Roy.
The defections have emerged as a reason of concern for the Bengal BJP which has failed to put its flock together. The BJP leadership alleges that coercion has been the reason for such defection.
Defections of Opposition MLAs to the ruling party emerged as a political phenomenon after Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011. Between 2011 to 2021, nearly 30 legislators of the Congress and the Left parties joined the Trinamool.
So far, none of the defecting MLAs have been disqualified and they manage to remain members of West Bengal after the defections.
